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Buffyverse Wiki:Policy
As a collaborative encyclopedia, all contributions are welcome to the Buffyverse Wiki. Still, some guidelines are necessary in order to maintain the wiki organized, reliable, and accessible. The following list is a compilation of current practices and agreements, and therefore always open for discussion. Still, common sense and cooperation are the best guides to any user. In-universe perspective :Archived discussion: CommunityDiscussion/Archive1#Tense consensus The Buffyverse Wiki uses an in-universe point of view, specifically the point of view of an omniscient observer from some point in the indeterminate future. For instance, the article on Buffy Summers opens: "Buffy Anne Summers was born a Slayer who was activated in the late 20th century." Characters who are themselves fictional within the Buffyverse should be written as if the in-universe fictional work was a real fictional work. For instance, the article on Raven (a character from the in-universe soap opera On Your Own) opens: "Raven was the lead character on the popular television show On Your Own." Furthermore, in-universe fictional characters should be written as being portrayed by the Buffyverse character, not the real-world actor — though their real-world actor would still be mentioned within their infobox. Neutral point of view Buffyverse Wiki has a neutral point of view policy similar to that of Wikipedia. According to Jimbo Wales, the founder of Wikipedia: "The neutral point of view attempts to present ideas and facts in such a fashion that both supporters and opponents can agree. Of course, 100% agreement is not possible; there are ideologues in the world who will not concede to any presentation other than a forceful statement of their own point of view. We can only seek a type of writing that is agreeable to essentially rational people who may differ on particular points. :"Perhaps the easiest way to make your writing more encyclopedic, is to write about what people believe, rather than what is so. If this strikes you as somehow subjectivist or collectivist or imperialist, then ask me about it, because I think that you are just mistaken. What people believe is a matter of objective fact, and we can present that quite easily from the neutral point of view." Although the Buffyverse is fictional, as a cult show it may inspire strong feelings. Some interpretation may be necessary in order to write a thorough and complete article; however, please avoid making value judgments about the characters or events on the show. Instead, report as accurately and completely as possible what happened without taking sides. :Instead of: Xander acted like an immature jealous idiot. :Write something like: Angry at Angelus' actions, Xander did not tell Buffy that Willow was trying to curse Angelus again. Obviously, the Buffyverse does not exist in a vacuum, it is the product of a number of minds in a determined context, and is directed towards a public, therefore it may be appropriate to report on such things as fan response and real-life influences. When writing on reaction to a character, storyline or episode, it is best to include as many different sides as possible, including that of the show's creative team, if available. Remember that if a controversy is important enough to be included here, it more than likely has at least two strong opposing arguments. Include links to websites, polls or forums. However, do not dress up your personal opinion as fact by claiming that "many fans" share it, unless you have a source to back up the claim. Likewise, do not make claims about what the show's creative team thought or intended unless it was stated on the record (interviews and DVD commentaries are good sources). If you see a similarity between scenes or to another work, simply note it under "Behind the scenes#Other". Speculation and unknown information Because of the nature of television shows, there are a number of dangling plotlines and characters whose fates were never resolved. Do not include speculation unless there's consensus between members. Outright speculation about events that are unknown or have not yet happened is discouraged, although it may be useful to point out missing information in some cases. If anything is known about why information is missing — for instance, it was in a scene that was cut from the final broadcast version of the show — it should be explained in the "Behind the scenes#Other" section of the article rather than the main body. Sometimes the characters themselves speculate on what happened or what might happen. In those cases, it is best to state that it is the character's assumption (and not the audience's). Spoiler policy As the original shows are over, and only the expanded universe is ongoing, only information of upcoming material should be treated like a spoiler. Canon policy Canon consists of the bodies of work that are considered to be "genuine" or "official" within a certain fictional universe. In the case of the Buffyverse, there's not an official source that states what is canon and what is not. Currently canon is treated this way: * Aired episodes: The 144 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the 110 episodes of Angel. They are the main source, outranking every other product. * Shooting scripts: Sometimes they include extra information character names that are not mentioned in dialogue for example. This information will also be treated as canonical unless contradicted by aired episodes. *'Comics and novels:' Unless written by people involved in Buffy or Angel (like Fray, Tales of the Vampires, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Angel: After the Fall), novels and comics are considered non-canon, though not fan fiction, as they are licensed material. Information the rest of comics and novels should be treated as unofficial. If information in the novels or comics does not contradict show continuity (acting as prequels to the overall show or to aired seasons), they can be included as articles, though it must be stated that they come from a source with dubious canonicity. * Alternate universes: Such as the 2019 comic revamps should be treated and marked as such. *'Fan fiction:' Fan fiction, including the so-called "virtual seasons", is the product of the imagination of fans and, while they can be endearing, logical and well written, they are neither canon nor licensed material and should not be included in any way. This information will be removed and articles about fanfic original characters deleted without discussion. Titles and names :Archived talks: Talk:Alexander Harris and Talk:Jennifer Calendar#Name Titles for character articles are composed of first name and last name (when known), without the middle name, often too obscure, as it's common in American habits of nomenclature. As such, we do not use "Anne" in the title for "Buffy Summers", although the information should be referred within her article. This wiki favors complete names when the main nickname is derivative. This is the convention that titles articles "Alexander Harris", "Winifred Burkle", "Daniel Osbourne", "Clement", "Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan", "Genevieve Savidge", among others. This solves the many particularities of each nickname in one consistent pattern. Such nicknames still exist in the wiki as redirects and the information should be referred within their articles. This is a different approach when the name isn't derivative, as example of Spike (William Pratt) and Angel (Liam), who are also famous figures themselves within the Buffyverse, and created completely new names for themselves. Category:Buffyverse Wiki